Improvement in cooling air and liquids and in making ice



UNITED STATES PATENT G -Fron- IMPROVEMENT IN COOLING AIR AND LIQUIDS AND IN MAKING ICE.

. Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 77,669, dated May 5, 1868.

-T0 all .whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL E. SoMEs, of

-Washington, in the county of Washington, District of Columbia, have invented a new and useful Process for Cooling Air and Making Ice; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

The nature of my invention consists in cooling and refrigerating by the use of liquids atomized in the form of spray or mist, produced by means of forcing or drawing any liquid by the action of a blast of air or gases, or their equivalent,through atomizing-tubes or through gauze or small holes.

7 It also consists in generating carbonic acid and drawing or forcing it into a vacuum or partial vacuum, and then compressing it in a rece1ver,.to be used in a vacuum for cooling or freezing purposes, in the manner hereinafter described.

To enable others to use my invention, I will proceed to describe its application in the improvement of the following mechanic arts, processes, and manufactures.

First, for cooling liquid: This is accomplished by passing through the liquid to be "cooled tubes or channels, through which is forced the atomized spray or vapor; or the spray is forced against or around tubes or channels or vessels containing liquids. Beer and water coolers come under this head.

. Second, for cooling air: This Iaccomplish by forcing or drawing atomized or vaporized the ordinary cold water which surrounds the worm of the still or its equivalent part.

Fourth, for cooling and refrigerating buildings and apartments and cars: For this purpose the air cooled by the spray is conducted through tubes or channels which run' through the apparatus to the apartments to be cooled; or liquid or air or gas may be conducted, in

like manner, through tubes or channels which :are surrounded or inclosed by tubes or channels of alarger size, so that air may be forced or drawn through the space between the larger and smallertubes. If the smaller tubes be covered or wound with tow, hemp, cotton, or an equivalent substance, and kept moist by means of water admitted through perforated pipes or otherwise, the air or liquid inthe smaller pipe will be still further cooled by means of evaporation.

I will nowdescribe the apparatus for producing refrigeration and gas.

I construct, of metal, glass, or other suitable material, an air-tight vessel or chamber having a cross-section of a size and form .most convenient for the purpose to which it-is to be applied-as, for instance, in the freezing of cream or the cooling of small quantities of water, beer, milk, wine, &c., a comparatively small area of cross-section would be required, while for the manufacture of ice for the market, and for cooling buildings or cars, it might be necessary to have the chamber large enough to admit the body of a man, so that he could have ample room to work. In this chamber are constructed cases or recesses extending across from the outside of the chamber, where they are open, nearly to the back or inner side plate of the chamber. Their mouths are closed by tight doors, which are hinged to one side or both sides of the case. Air or gas pipes extend through the chamber, having flanges or other means of connection withcontinuations.

An air-pump for drawing gas or air from the chamber and forcing it into pipes or areceiver, and thence to the chamber again, is conveniently located with connecting-pipes between it and the chamber, from which the gas or air is drawn on one side, and pipes on the other side connecting with the receiver and again with the chamber, and also .another pipe betweenthe pump and a gas-retort or gas-generator, hereinafter more fully described. All of said pipes are provided with valves or stop-cocks. The chamber and the receiver are also provided with stop-cocks and safety-valves. One of the latter is so constructed and arranged as to open communication between the receiver and the chamber whenever a given amount of pressure is found in the former.

Whatever may be its ,shape, it will be mated;

by another'pipe liavin g a similarsha'ped'apr ture. This latter pipe is in a vertical position,

the lower end extendingdowri nearly toithe floor of the chamber, and inside of said chamher. The orifices of these two pipes thus constituting an atomizer areso near together that their jets will impinge against each other, and produce a lateral spreading of the fluid 'ior: gas, orwhatever: may; be 1. ejected. through I i i 1 line,.or.any other volatile substance, or gas of them.

c The floor of the chamber should be made to slope toward the atomizing-pipes, so that the 1 liquid which falls upon it shall '"flow around. the end :of .the vertical pipe,to be drawn up stances are combustible, I propose to use carand again broken into spray.

iILalso-insert small vessels in the chamber; several inches apart, made air-tight intheir '-connections with said chamber. These vessels contain water,cream, milk, beer,or any; liquids orfsolids to befcooled or frozen, andi areso arranged that when the pump or its :equivalent .is .put in :motion, which maybe adon'e :byxa lever, crank, pulley, 'or. any other convenient device, and operated by any power,

the spray produced by the atomizing of the liquids shall strikeagainsttheir sides and pass through the spans between them; or the spray may be forced through tubes running through said vessels, orboth methods may be 4 adopted atthe same time. i. i A small apparatus may be made and worked by hand, which mayserve as a substitute for; refrigerators or water-coolers and the like now in use, which are cooled by meansof ice. A 'fewfstrokesof the lever or turns of the crank will cause the spray to dash against these small vessels, which will cool or. freeze their i i i forces it into the receiver.

tube leading from the retort. or from an inter- .contents.

.When'co'nstant refrigeration is desired, 11

provide the shaft with weight or spring and gears or pulleys, so that by winding up this.

portion of the apparatus a continuous power is secured. i I

@facturingice, or for cooling apartments, cars,

esteamboats, canal-boats, granaries, or other. buildings or vessels, it may be economy to xcompressairwor gas to such a degree as to produce heat in the pump and receiver, and

the pipes connecting them together. '.1 .In this case I make provision for conduct: ing away the heat thus produced by submerg- .ing the pumps, pipes, and receiver in cold wa- .ter orother cold substance, as salt and water, ice, and such chemicals andcompounds as are set forth in Patents No. 69,955, granted to me on the 15th day ofzOctober, 1867, or any other .cooling substance- The chamber may be anaaaa with two or more walls, with air-spaces between them, or saidspaces may be filled with cotton,wool,tow,hemp, charcoal, or any other non-conductor, to preserve the temperature .within from being affected by the outside air. The chamber may also be lined with any material that will resist the action of acids and "protect theiron plates from corrosion, as copper, glass, lead, tin, wood, cork, brick, porcelain,".enamel,'&c.' I.

In the operations of my apparatus such volatile cooling agents as ether, ammonia, hydrocarbon, alcohol, carbonic acid, chloroform, benzine, naphtha, petroleum, sulphurous acid, carbonic oxide, sulphuric acid, chlorine, spirits or oil of turpentine, anhydrous acid, rhig'oany kind, either singly or in combination, are placed or drawn into the chamber to be atomized. v i

As many of the above-named gases orsubbonic acid with them, either in a gaseous, liquid, or, solid form; and in order to secure a ready and cheap supply, at all times and under .any circumstances, of this fire-extinguisher, I locate at a convenient distance from the chamber and receiver a gas-retort or gas-generator of a suitable kind, and connect it, by means of tubes-or channels, with the chamber and the receiver and the pump. These tubes are provided with stop-cocks or valves to regulate the flow of gas or other substance that may pass through them.- i l.

- The retort is supplied with coke, coal, peat, or oily or fatty or other carbonaceous substances, coke or charcoal being. preferable.

r. I will now describe the operation of my apparatus. ,i i it The chamber being made tight by closing all the valves in the tubes connecting the retort or receiver with it, the pump is set in motion. Asthere is no inlet to the chamber, the pump soon draws the gas or air from it and The valve in the mediate gas-holder is now opened, when the gas rushes through a horizontal nozzle and over the end of the vertical nozzle within the i i i 3 chamber, which has become a partial vacuum (I i When the apparatus is to be used for manuby the action of the pump.

The ether or other liquid on the bottom of the chamber is drawn up the vertical tube by the rushof gas in the horizontal tube, and

atomized and forced in all directions in the form of spray. This process is continued until the desired number of atmospheres is forced into the receiver, when the valve should be closed in the gas-tube and that in the pip leading from the receiver opened. The flow ofgas or air from the receiver is sary maybe provided in the chamber, and

cold by expansion in the vacuum-chamber.

When any liquid is atomized it loses a portion of its latent heat, and when atomized in a vacuum it loses still more.

I am enabled by my invention to compress air and gases to conduct off the heat produced by compression to expand said air and gases in a vacuum, to atomize any liquid in said vacuum, to generate gases, and to mingle combustible gases and liquids with non-combustible gases and liquids, all at the same time and at the same operation, and without any appreciable loss of material, thus causing the temperature in the vacuum-chamber to fall so low as to rapidly freeze liquid in the cases and small vessels connected with the chamber, and to cool air passing through the tubes that extend through it. The cooled air may be conducted to rooms or chambers below the apparatus, or forced to apartments, or to any desired point above. When I wish to use air instead of gas, or air and gas together, I open a valve or stop-cock connected with the chamber and let it flow in till a supply has been secured, while the valve in the gas-pipe is closed. The chamber and receiver are provided with cocks for drawing oil the liquids,

and also another set for the admission or escape of air or gas.

What I claim as new is- 1. Atomizing liquid over and over in a chamber or vessel without removing it from said chamber or vessel, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. Atomizing liquid in a vacuum or partial vacuum over and over again without removing it from said vacuum or partial vacuum.

3. Generating and using gas, substantially in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

4. A small portable cooler, constructed and operated, substantially as set forth, as an article of manufacture.

5. The atomizers and chamber, in combination with the pump or its equivalent, substantially as described.

6. The atomizers and chamber, in combination with pipes or channels and means for conducting away heat, substantially as described.

7. The atomizers and chamber, the receiver, the pump, and means for cooling or freezing, substantially as described.

8. The atomizers and chamber, the gas-generator, and pump or its equivalent.

9. The atomizers and chamber, the gas generator and receiver, the pipes, and means for cooling, substantially as described.

10. The atomizers and chamber, the pump or its equivalent, and the gases, air, or liquids, substantially as set forth.

11. Means for regulating the supply of gas, air, or liquids, in combination with the atomizers and chamber, substantiallyas set forth.

12. The chamber and apartments, with noncond-ucting substances, and double or multiple walls, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

D. E. SOMES.

Witnesses:

GUY O. HUMPHRIES, F. C. SOMES. 

